Oct 30, 2008

In a major address at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on nuclear weapons, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that America would continue to need a nuclear deterrent.

“Simply put, we cannot predict the future,” he said. “Even as we strive to live up to our noblest goals, as (Andrew) Carnegie did, we must deal with the messy realities of the world in which we live.”

Gates said that even Carnegie, the American philanthropist who dedicated the final years of his life to the cause of World Peace, found himself encouraging President Woodrow Wilson to declare war against Germany before World War I.

“As long as human nature is what it is – as long as the tragic arc of history continues its course – we cannot eliminate the need to be prepared for war any more than Andrew Carnegie was able to eliminate war itself,” Gates said.

Gates speech was delivered against a backdrop of a reduced numbers of nuclear weapons under the Moscow Treaty with Russia, a period of military incompetence in the mishandling of nuclear weapons and flat budgets across a nuclear weapons complex that is committed to reducing its footprint.

Gates swore in new Secretary of the Air Force Mike Donley on Oct. 17 to replace the top Air Force official who was fired in June for failing to respond to warning signs about a decline in nuclear expertise over recent years.

“You are well aware of problems over the last year or so with the Air Force’s handling of nuclear weapons,” Gates told the Carnegie audience, listing some of the steps that have been taken to restore trust.

He was referring two incidents, one involving the unwitting airborne transfer of live nuclear weapons from North Dakota to Louisiana in August 2007, and the other concerning electrical fuses used to detonate strategic nuclear missiles, which had been shipped to Taiwan in error and went unnoticed for several months.

A series of high level studies and corrective actions have followed, including the preparation of a “Nuclear Enterprise Roadmap,” released on Friday, that called for the establishment of a Global Strike Command and a Headquarters Air Force staff agency to handle Air Force nuclear assets.

“The Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland Air Force Base (in Albuquerque) is being revitalized and expanded – with focus on sustainment and clearing up ambiguous chains of command that have created problems in the past,” Gates said Wednesday, discussing what he expected to be a “long term process” with further high-level reviews due in December.

Nearly two years ago a Defense Science Board report on issues related to the nuclear weapons programs recommended that the national security leadership should “declare unequivocally and frequently, that a reliable, safe, secure and credible nuclear deterrent is essential to national security and a continuing high priority.”

As he has in other speeches and policy papers recently, Gates reiterated his support for the Reliable Replacement Warhead for which, he noted, funding was cut completely this year.

“Let me be clear: The program we propose is not about new capabilities –- suitcase bombs, or bunker busters or tactical nukes,” he said. “It is about safety, security and reliability…and it deserves urgent attention.”

During follow-up questions, he said, “We just have to work harder in trying to make clear to members of Congress that the RRW is not about new capabilities but about safety, reliability and security; and as long as we have a stockpile, we need to have it viable in all those categories.”

It remains to be seen how much weight the Secretary of Defense’s thoughts on the matter of nuclear policy will carry at the end of the current administration. His speech identified unfinished business and carry-over priorities that may well fuel next round of national debate.

Under the next Administration, the weapons complex will be stripped down to the bare essentials. Look at the complex as it stands right now and then take it down another 40% in size. The Michigan-ization of Northern New Mexico is about to begin.

I just love all these people, who continually claim that under Obama the Lab's situation will get worse. Just as a reminder:It was a republican secretary of DOE, with a republican President, with a republican controlled house and senatewho privatized the lab. So I assume, all these people must love it here right now, because the privatization is such a huge success.

worse than under Bush and a Republican Congress? Really? I don't see how it can get any worse. NNSA has made it clear for more than four years where we are headed and we are now in the end game. Most of you act as if you were caught unaware. Either you are in denial or you haven't been paying attention.

I also don't know who B. Hussein Osama is, but according to Politico.com, a well-positioned Democrat has identified the two names on soon to be President-elect Obama's short list for Secretary of Energy: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.).

No joke.

Might be a good thing since both have major DOE labs in each of their states, and are very familiar with them. Remember that Schwarzenegger is on the UC Board of Regents and gets the regular LANS/LLNS briefings on what's happening at LANL and LLNL.

Dems want to keep their soon to be 60 count majority in the Senate, so there is no way Bingamin will become the new DOE chief.

Schwarzenegger isn't stupid enough to give up being Govenator of the biggest state in the Union to become manager of a broken DOE.

The next chief of DOE will not be a Governor or a Senator. It will probably be someone from industry.

As far as the "B. Hussein Osama is coming to deliver us" stuff, it appears that some people watch far too much Faux News.

I'm going to enjoy watching all the Obama haters faces on Wednesday. Yes, Barack Hussein Obama will be our next President. It will be a grand moment in American history when we elect the first black man to our highest office. My prays go with him.

McCain said at a rally a few weeks ago that Obama was a decent family man and a fine citizen. I heartily agree.

The hateful race-baitors in America (as in "B. Hussein Osama") can go rot in Hell. We don't need them here any longer. They are part and parcel of what is helping to destroy this great country of ours.

I found it interesting that just as soon as the New York Post, the Dallas Morning News, and the Washington Times endorsed McCain, their reporters were kicked off the Obama press plane. Yeah, that's called "the politics of inclusion" Obama style. Just a preview of what's to come. For example, expect to hear that anyone who disagrees with President Obama on anything must be a racist. The country is about to get much uglier under Obama, to the shock of, or maybe to the glee of, his "worshipers." Our predominately right-centrist country will elect an ultra-liberal president instead of the right-centrist McCain, mainly out of hatred for Bush. We'll regret it.

The country was right-center but eight years of Dubya have finally begun to shift public sentiment towards left-center. Whether it stays there will depend on how well Obama and the Democratic controlled Congress perform.

I think Obama has the right stuff to become a great President. Not nearly as impressed about the rest of the Dem's lineup (i.e., Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and the ever obnoxious Barney Frank).

As for Bush, he's going to go down in history as one of the all time worst Presidents in US history. Of that I'm pretty sure.

"As for Bush, he's going to go down in history as one of the all time worst Presidents in US history. Of that I'm pretty sure."

Not likely. In case you missed it, the Dem congress the past 2 yrs has made things worse-not better. The Dems have fought Bush at every turn for the past 8 yrs. Get ready for pay back time. The Dems might be in majority but the Reps have plenty of ways to make Obama's life just a miserable as the Dems did for Bush.

“According to the most common interpretation of biblical prophecy, Jesus will return only after things have gone horribly awry. Imagine the consequences if any significant component of the U.S. government believed that the world was about to end and that its ending would be glorious. The fact that nearly half of the American population apparently believes this should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency.” Harris

Hopefully this will be the beginning of a new secular era for the United States. It will be better for us, the world and the human race. God is not going determine the fate of humanity. We must use reason and science not magical and superstitous thinking to meet the future.

12:47 PM, you and Iran's kooky President seem to have a lot in common with your anticipation of horrible judgments to be hurled at America.

In the "real America", we don't sit around wistfully thinking such evil thoughts. Instead, we love our neighbors and practice tolerance and respect. You should try it out sometime. It's good for the soul.

Obama is not black. He's half-white, 7/16ths-Arabic/muslim and 1/16th-black...not even enough black to legally qualify as a protected minority. Jesus was Jewish. Most Christians are not Jewish. Whatever...

The Dems might be in majority but the Reps have plenty of ways to make Obama's life just a miserable as the Dems did for Bush.=========================

I agree that the Democrats have essentially been throwing a childish tantrum ever since Gore lost in 2000.

However, I would hope that the Republicans would act like adults and not emulate the childish Democrats. Mr. Obama will be our President for the next 4 years, and I hope he succeeds - for if he succeeds, then the USA succeeds - and I care about the USA - and not about a Party.